Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show the site of a farm in 1950 and the same site today.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.



 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The following plans illustrates the site of a farm in 1950 and the same site of farm today.

Overall, the first map gives us information about the physical condition of beachwood farm in 1950 and the second one shows us today's condition of the farm. There are not so many changes taken place at the farm.

The first map is showing us that in 1950, there was a link track with the main road which completely go the farm. Along this track, there are soft and fruit trees with vegetables. Beside these trees and vegetables, there is a farm and a barn for chickens. A river was also flowing from north east to the south west. On the other side of the track, there was a large field for sheeps.

Nowadays, the farm's map is looking quite different. The track is now transformed into a road. The large field is now converted into a camping field and a place for solar panels. There are two big parkings in the large field. One is on the entrance beside the main road and the other one is on the east side with solar panels. There is also a new farm shop beside fruit trees. The barn is now converted into a place for holiday cottages. There is a new barn constructed on the edge of the rectangular road.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the two time periods and report several important changes, including the track becoming a road, the addition of a farm shop and camping facilities, and the barn being replaced by holiday cottages. However, the overview that “There are not so many changes” understates the substantial redevelopment shown. Some details are also inaccurate or unclear: the river is not described as flowing from north-east to south-west, and the original farmhouse and chicken enclosure are not clearly distinguished from the barn. The present-day parking areas are mentioned, but their locations are confused with the solar panels. To strengthen the response, give a more accurate overview of the scale of change and compare the retained features, such as the river, fields and farmhouse, with the new facilities.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by a paragraph about 1950 and one about the present day. This makes the comparison easy to follow at a basic level, and time markers such as “in 1950” and “Nowadays” help orient the reader. However, some connections between features are unclear. For example, “Beside these trees and vegetables, there is a farm and a barn for chickens” does not clearly show which buildings or areas are being described, while the later reference to “the other one on the east side with solar panels” makes the parking location difficult to interpret. Use more precise location phrases and organise each paragraph around clearly identified areas or changes, rather than relying on repeated “there is” constructions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a site, including “track,” “field,” “river,” “farm shop” and “holiday cottages,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There is also some attempt to describe change with “transformed” and “converted.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural: “the physical condition” is not a suitable description of a map, “a link track” is unclear, and “two big parkings” uses the wrong form of the noun. “Sheeps” is also an incorrect plural. Aim for more precise map language and accurate collocations, such as describing a feature as being “located” or “replaced,” and use “parking areas” rather than “parkings.” This would make the description more natural and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including “The large field is now converted into a camping field and a place for solar panels.” The sequence of past and present descriptions is mostly understandable. However, some errors in agreement, tense and sentence construction remain. The opening should be “The following plans illustrate,” not “illustrates,” and “which completely go the farm” has an incorrect verb form and an unclear structure. In “The first map is showing us that in 1950,” the present progressive is awkward for describing a static plan; use “shows” or “showed.” There are also inconsistencies between “there was” and “there are” when describing the 1950 map. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions and vary sentence patterns while checking agreement.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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